Daily Yellowstone journal., 1887-04-03
MOOSE HUNTING
ONE MAN DOES THE WORK WHILE
THE OTHER SEES THE FUN.

becomes the Prey Of the Hunter.
AMER the Shot.
The moose seeks his food where the yell
iew water lily is found. II is not, how
syer, the leaves nor the blossoms which
ere sought, but the roots. These extend
IN a perfect network through the mud in
which they grow, attaining a thickness
exceeding mans arm and an indefinite
length. There is no disputing about
tastes, and consequently we will not
exfticise the moose for being SO fond of
shis vegetable. But to the human palate
itis dry, insipid and puckery, To obtain
ttis he will wade out into the water and
oouse his head beneath the surface until
sven his ears are submerged. Then hav-
fSg wrenched chunk Of greater or less
length from its bed, he withdraws his
bad, and, dripping water from each Of
he numerous angles which characterize
bis ugly physiognomy, he stands the
picture of pure animal enjoyment, chew
ing away at one end of the root, while the
other sticks out Of his mouth like cigar.
TO catch him in the middle Of this per-
formancc is the constant burden Of the
hunters prayers.
Should the night promise TO be still,
warm and dark, the hunter scours the re-
6sctor OF his jack until II shines like sill
ver, and breathes upon and wipes its glass
lens until it is speckless. The lamp within
should emit powerful light, but the cas-
ing must be SO constructed that not the
faintest glimmer can escape until its aid
b required, and q hinged cover, which
thx oil Ia
In this, as in most other forms Of moose
hunting, two form the company-one to
Do the work while the other takes in the
fun-and, as in many other things in this
life, ultimate success depends more on
the skill eff the former than on that Of the
latter.
After the jack has bs en- Lit some twenty
minutes, so that the maximum of light
possible without SIN, Ike is assured, the
pair betake themselves 10 the canoe.
Blankets are spread on the bottom of the
boat to deaden an motion of the feet.
He who is to shoot seats himself in the
bow, while his companion first wraps him
ia blankets and then arranges the jack.
This Is best suspended from frame be-
hind the rifieman; but it should be so
connected with his head that the beam Of
light will follow its every motion when
The jack is open. With the glass uncov-
@ed, the rifle is thrown to the shoulder,
md the connection Of the jack with the
headgeaI is so adjusted that when the
most convenient aim is taken it will be
directly in the center Of illumination.
Thus both sights of the rifle are perfectly
visible, and the difficulty is no longer to
Choot with accuracy, but only to obtain
Sufficiently distinct view Of the object to
BE- hit
When this is complete the other takes
his place in the stern, folds his blanket
over his lap, and, grasping his paddle,
pushes from the bank. The jack is then
CLOSED, and complete darkness and silence
follow.
As noiseless as the shadow Of a cloud,
ths canoe steals along, and hour after
hDur its occupants, relying solely on the
sense of hearing, strain every nerve to de-
tect an indication of the near neighbor-
hood of the game they seek.
At last comes slow and measured sound
--slosh, slosh, slosh; and then all is still
again. The heart Of the hunter shrivels
within him to the size Of lemon, and
dies into his throat, where 1t keeps up
such a humping that it seems impossible
fhat the noise should escape the quick ear
of the gamc. With the utmost caution
the rife is brought TO the full cock, and
the left hand freed, ready TO open the jack
ut the preconcerted signal, which il is the
duty of the paddler to give.
Every ache and pain is at once forgotten
I'm the all absorbing question, Will he re.
main in the water or take to the bank,
and, burying himself in the woods, escape?
For he Is 81 ii far beyond the range of the
jack, and not till il will surely show him
up must II he opened. IL the motion of
the canoe was slow before, it seems doubly
20 now, and minute after minute, each ap-
Iarently an hour, drags on, and still the
nOise, repeated at intervals, seems no
nearer.
At length. after seemingly endless de-
lay, comes the signal TO open the jack,
end the lleAt streams forth. There he
stands, mid leg deep in the water. dim,
shAdowy and monstrous, his eyes glaring
green in the Light, with the malevolence Of
a demon. lie will stay but for a second,
Ind only TO decide which way 10 retreat.
I.aise the rifle slowly, but lose no time.
Draw as careful bead as though shoot
ing at a two-inch bulls eye, and give il 10
linn right through-not behind-the mid
die of the fore shoulder. For a second the
smoke obscures the result. Is he down or
up' In either case, dose him again If you
can; but II you cannot close the jack at
once Now is no time TO ask your COM
panion: DO you think hit himy II you
were silent before, be doubly so now, and
listen. Does he burst into and tear
through the woods as though he had gone
into the hndlng wood business and was
laying in a winters stock, and do you
hear him crashing and smashing until the
sound dies away on the distant mountain
sidei 1t was clear miss, or at best
Craze. But no; the uproar dies away and
silence you can almost feel ensues.
What sound is that from the neighboring
woods' There he isl You can hear him
breathe and wheeze at every inspiration.
u is well The shot was little too far
hack, but II was pretty well placed all the
same. Now withdraw with the stiffness
Of death itself and not until at least
half q mile intervenes whisper TO your
companion "Wcll, I guess that's our
meat; what do you thinky'
For II from any act Of yours he discov-
ers what has hurt him, particularly IL you
attempt to land, he will either attack at
once, in which case you will be in desperate
peril, or he will travel till he drops, perhaps
miles and miles away, and the foxes and
otner marauders Of the forest alone will
profit by his death. Whereas IL you leave
him TO attribute his distress to stroke Of
lightning or fit OF indigestion. or TO any
cause other than the agency Of man, you
will find him in the morning, II not lying
dead, where you last heard him, at all
events so enfeebled that you may still